Shade-roller.



G. C. MATHERS.

SHADE ROLLER. APPLICATION F|LED0CT.21|1914.

1,172,819. L i Patented Feb.22,1916.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

GEORGE C. MATHERS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 ROBERT PROTHEROE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHADE-ROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 191e.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. MATHERS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shade-Rollers, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in shade rollers Aof the spring-actuated type, and has for its object the production of a1 roller which will be so mounted as to permit of adjustment of the tension of the spring thereof without the necessity of removing the roller from the brackets in which the same is mounted.

A further object is the production of mechanism of the character mentioned which may be readily and easily operated, and which will be of durable and economical construction. Y

Other objects `will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a window frame equipped with a shade roller embodying my invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional front elevation of the roller and its supporting brackets, Fig. 3is an enlargedsection taken on substantially line w-m of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the roller with the supporting .bracket of the end shown broken away in order to expose the end of the roller, Fig. 5 is a central section of a slightly modified form of construction, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the construction shown inFig. 5.

The preferred form of construction, as illustrated in the drawing comprises a shade roller 1 provided at one end with a spindle 2. Said roller is rotatably mounted upon the spindle 2, a. helical torsional spring 3 connecting said roller and spindle asis the usual construction. Said roller is releasably connected with said spindle by means of diametrically A positioned pawls 4L and 4 which are pivotally mounted upon the end of said roller for engagement with diametric slots 5 and 5 respectively, formed in the periphery of collar 6 whichv is iiXed to said spindle. The construction thus far disclosed is old and well known and no claim is made hereto to this construction, except insofar as the same cooperates with the construction hereinafter described.

In the operation of the shade roller it is of course necessary to hold the spindle 2 against rotation so that as the shade is unwound, the tension of the'spring 3 is increased in order to adapt the same to rewind the curtain when the roller is released. The means for thus holding spindle 2 comprises a disk 7 provided with a hub 8 which is fixed as by soldering to the exteriorly projecting squared end of said spindle, as' clearly shown in Fig. 2. Upon the hub 8 is also fixed a disk 9, which results in the formation of a spool or reel around said hub and between the disks 7 and 9. The outer end .of hub 8 is rotatably and shiftably mounted in an elongated slot 10 formed in a bracket l1` which is suitably fixed to the window frame or other construction upon which the shade roller is mounted. The slot 10 is elongated substantially vertically in order to permit of vertical shifting or elevation of the disk 7.

Formed upon the periphery of the disk 7 at opposite sides of said disk are pluralities of spaced projections or shoulders 12 adapted, when said disk is at its lower terminal of movement, that is with the hub 8 thereof at the lower end of slot 10, to engage with a stop 13 formed upon and in wardly projecting from the lower edge of the bracket 11. Ihe arrangement is such. as will be seen, that the projections 12, engaging with the stopv 13, will Vserve to normally hold the disk 7 and hence the spindle 2 against rotary movement. Upon elevation of said disk, said projectionswill be moved out of the range of engagement with stop 13 so as to permit of free rotation of said disk, and hence said spindle, in unison with the shade roller. This elevation of disk 7 is effected by means of a cord 14 connected at one end with the hub 8 by engagement of a knot formed at the end of said cord behind a pin 15 projecting'inwardly from the disk 7. Said cord vextends upwardly from the hub 8 over a curved chan'- nel-formed lip 16 provided at the upper end of bracket 11 and thence downwardly to a position in which the lower end thereof may be readily engaged by one positioned at the foot of the window.

1n order to permit ot ready engagement of cord 14 with the lip 16, an entrance slot 17 is provided at one side of said lip, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. TWith this arrangement, it will be seen, that elevation of the disk T is effected by simply pulling downwardly upon the depending end oi' cord 14. Upon rotation of the roller, after disk '7 has been elevated, causing unisonous movement of said disk, the cord 14 will be wrapped upon hub 8 or unwrapped therefrom depending upon the direction in which said roller is rotated. With this arrangement then, it will be seen that in order to adjust the tension ot' spring 3, it will be unnecessary to dismount the roller, since such adjustment may be effected by manipulations ot'L the shade, that is, winding or unwinding of the same and the cord 14. For instance, if it is desired to increase the tension oi' the spring 3, it is only necessary to pull the lower end of the cord 14 downwardly in order to elevate the disk 7 and then continue to pull. downwardly upon said cord in order to rotate the roller 1, so as to wind the shade thereon, said shade having iirst been drawn downwardly to unwind tlie same from the roller. If it is desired to relieve the `tension of said spring, it is only necessary to pull downwardly upon the lower end of cord 14 and then to draw downwardlly upon the shade so as to unwind the same from the roller.. It will thus be seen, that any tension of the spring of the shade roller may be secured without necessitating the removal of the roller, such as is required at the present time. At the lower end of Vcord 14 is provided a split ring 18 upon which the free end of said cord may be wrapped after the adjustment of said roller spring has been made, in order to confine the lower end of the cord so that the same will be out of the way. The ring 18 also serves as a hand piece in the manipulations of the cord 14.

The projections 12 are so positioned relative to the pawls 4 of the shade roller, that the spindle 2 will be stopped only in positions where the sockets 5 and 5 thereof may be engaged by the pawls 4 and 4 when rocked downwardly by gravity. In other words, said projections are so positioned, that when the spindle 2 is stopped through engagement of one of said projections with the stop 13, one of the sockets 5 or 5 will be positioned at the upper side of the collar 6 for engagement by the pawl 4 or 4, when the latter is rocked downwardly by gravity.

ln the slightly modiiied form shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the hub S is permanently secured to the bracket 11 by means of a collar 19 provided at the outer end of said hub. At the opposite end of said hub is provided. an elongated socket 2O for engagement with the squared outer end of the spindle 2.

This form is designed for use especially in connection with shade rollers which have already been installed, it `being clear that with this arrangement, to install the same, it is only necessary tovdetach the old bracket cooperating with theend of the spring yactuated spindle of the roller and to apply a bracket of the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 in its stead, the latter being sov positioned as to permit of engagement of the squared end of the spindle with the socket 20 therei of. The operation of this form is precisely the same asv that above described, the only difference in the two being that in the form f iirst described, the hub 8 is permanently Fixed to the end of the roller spindle, whereas in the latter construction, said hub is releasably connected with said spindle. In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 also,.the guiding member 16 is of a slightly different design iirom the guiding member 16 before described.

While l have illustrated and described the preferred orm of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modiiication without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not wish to belimited to the precise detail-s of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure-by Letters Patent is:

1. A fixture :tor coperation with the spring actuated spindle of a `spring shade roller, comprising a bracket; a spindle-engaging member rotatably mounted in said bracket; and means for locking said member against rotation in said bracket or releasing the same Jfor free movement therein, substantially as described.

2. A. iixture for coopera-tion with the;

spring actuated spindle of a spring shade roller, comprising a bracket; a spindle-engaging member rotatably mounted in said bracket; and a stop on said bracket for engagement with said member to hold the latter against relative rotation, said mem-l ber being shiftably mounted in said bracket to permit ofl movement thereof into and out of operative relation with said stop, suhstantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with the spring actuated spindle of a spring shade roller mounted in one end .of said roller to permit of relative rotaryl movement of said.v parts, of a bracket;

a member rotatably mounted in saidbracket f to which said spindle is locked against relative rotation; and means for releasablyl locking said member against rotation in said bracket, substantially as described..`

4. In a device ofthe class describedgthe combination with the spring actuated spindle of a spring shade roller mounted in one end of said roller to permit of relative rotary movement of said parts, of a bracket; a member rotatably mounted in said bracket to which said spindle is lockedagainst relative rotation; means for releasably locking said member against rotation in said bracket; and means for rotating said member When` released for rotation in said bracket, substantially as described.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with the spring actuated spindle of a spring shade roller mounted in one end of said roller to permit of relative rotary movement of said parts, of a bracket; a member rotatably mounted in said bracket to 'which said spindle is locked against relative rotation; means for releasably locking said member against rotation in said bracket; and a iiexible element adapted t0 be Wrapped upon said member for releasing said member from said locking means andr for rotating the same When released, substantially as described.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination With the spring actuated spindle of a spring shade roller mounted in one endV of said roller to permit of relative rotary movement of said parts; of a bracket; a member rotatably mounted in said bracket to which said spindle is lockedagainst re1- ative rotation; stops on said member; and

Copies of this patent niay be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

